20 to Know in Health Care: Kelly Kelleher

Kelly KelleherADS endowed chair and vice president of community health and services… more

ADS endowed chair and vice president of community health and services research | Ohio State University and Nationwide Children’s Hospital

Why did you get into this profession?

My first experiences helping my father as a dental assistant taught me that interacting with patients and families was an intimate and privileged position. Medical school only underscored the miraculous aspects of care, too.

Is it as fulfilling as you thought it would be?

The patient and family interactions were mostly wonderful. I became frustrated over time though with how reimbursement rules were driving quality of care and how worn out so many physicians were about that. So I decided to focus on policy and quality research. I am very fortunate to have such a great job.

What’s the most exciting thing happening today in your industry?

For more than three-quarters of a century, pediatricians have been seeing one patient at a time in their offices and getting paid by the number of office visits regardless of whether patients improve for the most part. Now I see a clear break in some markets occurring between this outdated way of paying physicians and hospitals for volume only, and an emerging commitment to paying for making patients and communities healthier. Then physicians, patients and families can work together for the best outcomes.

Name one thing you would change about the health-care industry in the U.S.:

If I had to pick one, I would accelerate the decline of simple fee for service payment for services that has encouraged inefficient and ineffective care. Replacing it would be shared savings agreements that give payers like the state Medicaid program and clinician groups incentives to work together for improved outcomes and lower costs.

What do you feel you have yet to accomplish?:

I believe our model of partnership with community agencies, families, neighborhoods, the state and other providers is the right one for the long-term improvements in the health of children, especially poor and chronically ill children at least in Ohio. Up until now though, it has been a novelty supported by Nationwide Children’s visionary board and leadership, insightful leadership at the state and federal grant dollars from the Center for Medicare and Medicaid Innovation. The next step is to take this from a novelty or single program and spread it to other parts of Ohio or other states to test whether the health of children can really be improved while lowering costs in the health-care system.

To what other industries should health care look for inspiration to be more efficient and effective?

The engineers for airplanes and space travel have almost eliminated human error from their complex systems. ... Banking and travel services have tapped into the do-it-yourself phenomenon with online and app services that make our lives so much easier most of the time. Finally, computing and technology companies are providing us an increasing number of tools and the computing power to analyze our behavior and that of our patients in brand new ways.